It’s hard to know where to start when accessing new hunting ground.
QUESTION: I just acquired new hunting ground. I Got to hunt it during the last week of bow season and saw lots of does. It consists of 10 acres of fields and 190 acres of woods. It seems promising, but I’m not sure how to get started. Where should I start in getting more bucks on the property? — Mark B.
ANSWER: You haven’t given me much to go on, like location (region, state, county), terrain or habitat, so my response will have to be equally general. I’d start by taking stock of what’s already there. There are probably bucks on the property.
Put in some boots-on-the-ground survey time and try to locate heavily traveled areas. Then, put out some trail cameras.
If you have a smart phone (and who doesn’t these days?) I recommend getting a hunting app like ScoutLook that will allow you to record specific locations of rubs, scrapes, bedding areas, camera sites and potential treestand locations. You can also download photos and create logs. Once you’ve compiled enough information, pull up the aerial view on your computer screen, and you should begin to see some patterns.
The next step involves habitat. Again, it’s difficult to make recommendations without knowing what’s there, but deer need food, cover and water. The more of each and the closer they are together, the better. Figure out what’s missing and add it.
Your 10 acres of fields sound like possible locations for food plots. You might also consider doing some hinge-cuts to create bedding cover. And as you only have 200 acres, I suggest concentrating both food and bedding toward the middle of the property.
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